Popular messaging app Discord is working on a new Game Mode that is designed to reduce computer resource consumption during gaming sessions. The company has confirmed that testing of the experimental feature will begin next week.
Popular messaging app Discord is working on a new Game Mode that is designed to reduce computer resource consumption during gaming sessions. The company has confirmed that testing of the experimental feature will begin next week.
The new development was announced by the unofficial Discord Previews account on the X social network, which tracks upcoming features for the platform. Later, the official Discord account confirmed the development in the comments to the post: "This is an early experiment that we will start implementing next week. Over time, we aim to add more features to conserve resources."
Once enabled, Game Mode will automatically detect when a game is running and limit the visual effects of the desktop application. This includes reducing animations and disabling effects that typically use CPU and GPU resources. You'll see an "Enable Game Mode" toggle in the settings with the description: "Reduces Discord's CPU and GPU usage while a game is running."
This approach will free up more of your PC’s resources for direct use in the game, rather than Discord consuming them in the background. This can be especially useful for users with older or less powerful hardware, where running multiple applications at once puts additional strain on the system. Additionally, the feature automates the process — players will no longer have to manually disable individual settings before launching each game.
It's not yet known exactly which animations and effects will be disabled, or how significant the reduction in CPU and GPU load will be in practice. Preliminary information suggests that the feature could be an automated version of the existing Reduced Motion setting. There's also no word yet on whether the new mode will affect RAM usage or how it will work when casting.
